Sydney Speed Skating Club (SSSC) held their annual club championships at Macquarie Ice Rink 8.30 - 10.30 am Saturday 8 October. 

This is our first race meet at Macquarie since the start of the pandemic. Like the recent national championships that some of us attended in Melbourne last weekend, racing together felt like a celebration as well as a (fiercely fought!) competition.

Special thanks to staff and management at Macquarie Ice Rink which has absorbed increased skating patronage in the wake of the recent closure at Canterbury. The ice was specially prepared for us by the manager himself this morning.

More race pictures and results to follow, but now is a good time to acknowledge the hard work put in by everybody else who makes a race possible: referee(s), starter, time keepers, finish line judge, block stewards and competitors steward. Also those who help plan and prepare for the event, arrange for medals, suits and even sweet treats for the competitors. 

On 18 December we gathered a bunch of skaters - old and new - to ring out the year with some fun on the ice. A highlight were the "bucket races". I'm not sure what particular technique these are supposed to develop. Resilience?